Visual Diary
Contemporary Art Practice — Sem 2 2026 · 5 August → 13 August
5 August · Class
From memory↗
A new project must differ, or represent a development. Material-led again — that process fits how I work. The subject arrives: the ring I see when I first open my eyes in the morning, then close them [phosphenes?]. Laser-cut perspex after Christie-Coxon and Colín; wax, light and acrylic mediums from Corinna; impasto recipes and three painters from Matt.
“A ring with non-perfect edges that shifts in shape over time.”
“I have no reference — I have to observe it with my eyes closed, and represent it from memory.”
6 August · Research
Phosphenes↗
What the morning ring is: phosphenes and closed-eye visuals; afterimage vs phosphene; Purkyně drawing his own in the 1810s; the ring as a hinge to Christie-Coxon. With a reading list from his 1819 dissertation — §XXIV describes rings seen on waking.
“An image with no external referent whatsoever.”
“When I draw the morning ring I’m not inventing a method — I’m joining one.”
12 August · Studio / screen
Settles↗
The morning ring built as light instead of matter: a WebGL exploration (with Claude) — black void, backlit white acrylic, non-perfect edges, a single breach that opens and seals. Then the discovery that carries: pressure reinvigorates it, a phone under a translucent object becomes the sensor, and two hands squeezing combine. The word that survives the day: settles.
“Completely black background, so the light is only captured by the torus.”
“I like that word… settles.”
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer — Remote Pulse · Prisoner’s cinema · 8 artists using silicone (Artsy)
13 August · Idea
Breathing↗
A one-line idea to hold onto: a visualization that pairs to your breathing — a phone website that listens, or lies against the ribs. In an exhibition, one person at a time; a volunteer breathes for the piece.
“A visualization that pairs to your breathing.”
“The breather isn’t a user, they’re a guest.”